THE ENDURING NATIVE CANOE PRIDE OF THE NORTHWEST COAST SEAFARERS by Leslie Lincoln sons, so approximately 20,000 ca- and a lucrative trade in China stimulated noes plied the waves when the many more voyages. As the Aleuts' refirst European explorers arrived. sources were exploited, the Russians Canoes gave the mariners a pushed southward, ultimately challengfreedom to travel in the otherwise ing Spain's claim on "Alta California." mountainous and isolated areas The French, Spanish, English and Ameriwith the ebb and flood of local cans soon voyaged to the Northwest currents. Indigenous people ap- Coast in quest of the same sea otter pelts preciate the gift of the canoe and and to lay their claims on the land. the cedar from which it is hewn. During the early encounter and Cedar is the sacred tree, the great thereafter, the European and American Life Giver which provides its traders introduced a most ruinous aspect roots, wood, branches, bark and of civilization. They brought diseases, leaves forthe benefit of the people. particularly small pox and measles, in They understand that the spirit of epidemic proportions. Tragically, in the the cedar tree lives in the canoe next 100 years, 80 to 90 percent of the Painting by Bill Holm,from his current exhibit at and they respect that spirit. original population died. Burke Museum , University of Washington Native peoples kept their own histoWhole villages in large cerhe first founders of the Pacific North- emonial craft voyaged to social gather- ries of these encounters in their oral west coast fished and gathered here ings , dances , and generous potlatch tradition . The Tlingit have recorded a forat least nine to twelve thousand years. feasts. This extensive water travel cre- story of their first encounter with La Archaeological remains offer convinc- ated a lasting social fabric of marriages Perouse in 1786: "Yeahtlh-kan, the wise man was carving ing testimony for the early development and related families which continues towhen suddenly the wolf-cry came-the of their dugout watercraft. In these rug- day. In the fall , the vessels were loaded ged coastal waters, indigenous seafarers to the gunwales with tons of dried and sign of great news. 'Yeahlth is coming; hunted sea mammals, including the por- smoked salmon , halibut, cod, smelt, herYeahlth is coming. He comes from the poise, and occupied the isolated Queen ring, seal and eulachon oil, shellfish, western horizon. He is aU white. His Charlotte Islands 9,000 years ago. seaweed, berries and roots . The sixtywings turn this way and that way as he moves across the water. ' Canoe-borne, they lived on nutritious foot Northern sty le canoes could carry as "AU prepared for the Coming of the resources from the sea, inland waters much as six to eight tons of freight. Yeahlth, the Great Creator. This strange Offshore whale and sea mammal and rivers. The hardy dugouts made their vision turned slightly and headed directly marine lifestyles possible, indeed highly hunting, slave raids and retaliatory warsuccessful. Their carrying-capacity al- fare demanded further lowed for seasonal migration from pro- performance from the The war canoe ofTlupannulg, as depicted by Jose Cardero of the Galiano expedition, 1791. (Museo de America, Madrid) tected winter settlements to summer seaworthy craft and salmon fishing camps. Salmon blessed their crews. The arrival the coastal rivers and over time the Na- of Russian , European tives developed great skill in catching and American explorand preserving the fish. Though hunger ers challenged the Nalurked behind a poor fish run, the usual tives ' sea hunting skills bountiful catch gave them a ready and and rewarded them reliable food source. TheNorthwestcoast with new-found wealth became the second most densely popu- and untold difficulties. lated area in North America. In 1741, Vitus BerThe Smithsonian Handbook estimates ing first opened the the pre-contact population for the whole North Pacific for EuroNorthwest Coast culture, extending from peans. His expedition Yakutat Bay in Alaska toward the present reached as far south as California-Oregon border, at 200,000. It Sitka, a Tlingit area in is reasonable to estimate further that A laska. Reports of there was one canoe for each ten per- plentiful sea otter pelts
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SEA HISTORY 61, SPRING 1992